Ration Recipe: Almond “Custard” Pie

I was itching for something sweet and realized that our sugar ration wasn’t going to last all month if I made cookies or something equally sugar-intensive. So, I did some thinking and assessed the ingredients in the house and came up with a pie recipe. This could also easily double as a pudding/custard dessert. This recipe can also be made GFCF friendly by using tapioca starch rather than corn starch and using a GF pie crust.

Toss everything but the almonds together in a food processor.
You may want to add some salt, taste the mixture before adding.
If you’re happy with the filling, add the almonds and pulse until there are just pieces of the almonds distributed throughout.
Pour the filling into the crust.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 30 minutes to let everything firm up.

As far as dessert goes, that’s not too horrific. When I did the calculation for Weight Watchers points, it only came to 3 points per serving under the old points system and 4 points under PointsPlus.

I’m including the nutritional information only because I was curious about the effect that using beans as the base would effect the nutritional value of the dish. Much of my reading as indicated that during rationing, people ate more healthily than they do now due to a number of factors. I’ve been tracking the effect that this change in my family’s diet is having our our health in order to determine whether or not there’s truth to this. While there are some very logical conclusions being drawn, I’m not seeing specific data, only experiential evidence. So, I’m building data of my own.

You really need something light to balance out the thick, pasty nature of the beans. My suggestion is to use this alternative to whipped cream:

Beat together the ice water, lemon juice, and vanilla until completely mixed.
While continuing to beat, slowly add the dry milk to the mixture.
Beat for another five minutes, or until the consistency stiffens.
Once you have the correct consistency, add the sugar and beat for another minute.

I think that I’m going to try the custard alternative idea and serve this in souffle cups with some fruit.